Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin is a writer, musician and publisher, originally from

Aghamore Aghamore () is a townland in County Leitrim, Ireland, located on the main N4 national primary road between Dublin and Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

in Ireland.

Biography

Born in 1961 and educated in St Louis Community School,

Kiltimagh Kiltimagh () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town had a population of 1,069 people. Although there in no river going through the town, three rivers flow around the town: the Glore River, Yellow River and Pollag ...

, he graduated from

St Patrick's College, Dublin St Patrick's College ( ga, Coláiste Phádraig), often known as St Pat's, was a third level institution in Ireland, the leading function of which was as the country's largest primary teacher training college, which had at one time up to 2,000 s ...

, in 1982. He taught in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

for five years in Gaelscoil Uí Dhálaigh, an Irish-medium primary school in

Leixlip Leixlip ( or ; , IPA: �lʲeːmʲənˠˈwɾˠad̪ˠaːnʲ is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border between ...

. In 1984, Mac Dhonnagáin was invited to present children's programme '' Dilín ó Deamhas'' on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

Television and in 1987 he left teaching to become a presenter/reporter on the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

features programme, '' Cúrsaí''. In 1995, a weekly arts edition of the show '' Cúrsaí Ealaíne'' began to air, with Mac Dhonnagáin co-presenting. Cúrsaí Ealaíne won an

Irish Film and Television Awards Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

award in 2000 for best TV Features series. Mac Dhonnagáin, a guitarist and singer, also recorded two albums while living in Dublin: '' Solas Gorm'', a tongue-in-cheek

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

collection, and '' Raiftéirí san Underground'', a collection in Irish and English. With the creation of

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

in 1996 and the concomitant rise of an Irish-language television industry in the West of Ireland, Mac Dhonnagáin resettled in the

Conamara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...

in 2000, where he continues to work freelance as a screenwriter, most notably the

and

Celtic Media Festival The Celtic Media Festival, formerly known as the Celtic Film and Television Festival, aims to promote the languages and cultures of the Celtic nations in film, on television, radio and new media. The festival is an annual three-day celebration ...

, award-winning teenage drama show

Aifric ''Aifric'' () is an Irish-language TV series aimed at young adults, co-created and written by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin and co-created and directed by Paul Mercier. The show has won multiple IFTA awards for "Best Children's/Youth Program". The fir ...

. The show has been dubbed and broadcast in seven languages worldwide.

Author and publisher

Mac Dhonnagáin is the author of a number of award-winning books, including ''Gugalaí Gug!'' a CD/book collection of traditional children's rhymes from the Conamara tradition, awarded a Gold Disc in 2013. His book, ''Madame Lazare'', won 'Irish Language Book of the Year' at the 2021 Irish Book Awards. His literary biography for adults of

Antaine Ó Raiftearaí Antaine is the Irish name for many people known in the English language as Tony or Anthony. Notable people with this given name include the following: First name *Antaine Ó Braonáin, Irish name for Anthony "Tony" Brennan (born 1944), Irish G ...

, ''Mise Raiftearaí an Fíodóir Focal'', was awarded Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin, Irish-language book of the year award, 2015. The project began life as a drama-documentary script, for TG4 television, which Mac Dhonnagáin also presented. The film, '' Mise Raiftearaí an Fíodóir Focal'', produced by Léirithe Sónta, was broadcast on TG4 in December 2010. 'Bliain na nAmhrán', a song collection for children, published in book/CD form, won the Children's Books Ireland Judges' Honour Award at the Children's Book of the Year Awards, 2017. Mac Dhonnagáin is also the owner/director of a book publishing house,

Futa Fata Futa may refer to: Geography * Futa Pass between Florence and Bologna *Futa River in Chile *Futa, Ghana, a community in Ghana *Futa Tooro, a region along the Senegal River Acronyms *Federal Unemployment Tax Act (US) *Federal University of Techno ...

, which publishes in the main material for children. The company has over 100 books in print, a mix of work originated by Irish writers and illustrators as well as inward translations from French, German and English. Futa Fata also sells rights of its original publications internationally; its book have been published in eleven languages across the world. In 2007 Mac Dhonnagáin was named Uachtarán an Oireachtais, an honorary title given by the Irish language festival

Oireachtas na Gaeilge Oireachtas na Gaeilge (, “The Irish (language) Gathering”) is an annual arts festival of Irish culture, which has run since the 1890s. Inspired by the Welsh eisteddfodau, the festival has included different events connected with Irish langu ...

, which was being held in Westport that year. Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin lives in An Spidéal, Conamara.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Dhonnagáin, Tadhg 1961 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Living people Irish language activists People from County Mayo People from County Galway RTÉ television presenters Irish-language writers